IT TOOK Barack Obama all of fifteen words on a national stage to make his first connection to the Great Emancipator--"on behalf of the great state of Illinois, crossroads of a nation, land of Lincoln"--thus establishing himself as the political heir to the 16th President's vision and hope.
Obama then launched his presidential campaign from the state house where Lincoln gave his "house divided" speech to the Illinois Republican congress and will consecrate his presidential run by swearing from the same Bible that Lincoln placed his left hand on during his. So we know Obama likes Lincoln.
And as Lincoln is the most quoted American president, and in fact, one of the most quoted people in history, so it should not come as a surprise that a man, such as Obama, who so overtly idolizes the man, should so eagerly sample his hallowed rhetoric. A lot.
The following is a primer on Lincoln phrases and passages that Obama has quoted and is likely to quote in his inauguration addresses and beyond. It is far from exhaustive, but it should cover the basics that surprisingly few pundits explore with any detail. Or even care about.
There are better scholars than me to catalog Lincoln's contributions to presidential wit and wisdom, but this should serve as a decent jump start until one consumes the works of Fehrenbacher, Wills, McPherson, et al. If you haven't already.
We Are Not Enemies, But Friends
In his first inaugural address, standing before a hostile Confederacy, Lincoln threw a series of logic-weighted body blows to stunt Southern claims that secession was in their right, constitutionally:
" Plainly the central idea of secession is the essence of anarchy. A majority held in restraint by constitutional checks and limitations, and always changing easily with deliberate changes of popular opinions and sentiments, is the only true sovereign of a free people."
Lincoln laid the foundation with logic, and went for the kill by, ironically, appealing to humanity and peace. He asked the Confederates to smooth out their differences through negotiations, rather than hammer out policy with armed conflict.
"We are not enemies but friends," Lincoln closed his address with, promising the Confederate leadership that he would not impose his will over his views on slavery if they dutifully remained members of the union, "We must not be enemies. Though passions may have strained, they must not break the bonds of affection."
Obama quoted those words, though he omitted the second sentence, "we must not be enemies", in his acceptance speech on election night, in regards to the partisan bickering that has plagued the nation during the Bush administrations.
There is a difference in magnitude between Republicans bullying liberal legislators and states seceding from the federal government, that might suggest Obama is being overly melodramatic here. One threatens the Union; the other just annoys it, greatly.
But that's the audacity of metaphor for you.
Better Angels of Our Nature
The "better angles" phrase served as the last line of that 1st inaugural address, immediately following the "we are not enemies, but friends" construction.
"The mystic chords of memory," spoke Lincoln, "stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave to every living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature."
"Mystic chords of memory" is a sweet little Lincoln poetic ditty that doesn't get much mileage. The rest of that phrase is a bit specific to the antebellum era, as only schoolchildren reciting the pledge really refers to their nation as a "union." It's "nation" these days. Or you can call it America, for short.
Obama snuck in "better angels" on his train tour towards the capital, stretching the phrase to apply again, to partisan differences, where Lincoln had once applied it to secessionist politics:
"What is required is a new declaration of independence, not just in our nation, but in our own lives - from ideology and small thinking, prejudice and bigotry - an appeal not to our easy instincts but to our better angels."
Obama's first term will be an interesting contrast to Lincoln. Lincoln's words failed to unite the nation, and a conflict that neither side wanted, came. Lincoln was no great uniter through his words; he saved the union with his army.
What force can Obama resort to neuter his detractors if his rhetoric falls on the deaf ears of his opponents? Let's hope he's stashing an extra Ulysses S. Grant in his oval office drawer.
Experiment
It's an anachronism to consider American democracy an "experiment," since we've been at it for over two-hundred years now.
In that time we've defeated secession, communism, fascism, and anarchy, (to name a few) and no matter how badly the banking crisis has gutted our great nation, we still very much believe, as a country, that we employ the best kind of government, representative democracy, with the greatest possible ideals, "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."
We now generally refer to the early stages of our country as a "revolution", taking it almost for granted that democracy was a logical and just decision, that, to borrow from Lincoln, "right makes might." And not as an "experiment" which had the chance to be proved wrong. Which it wasn't. Obviously.
In Philadelphia, Obama evoked this ancient viewpoint of American democracy when he referred to the birth of America as the "fragile experiment." Most glazed over this use; some thought it might have been cute; and Lincoln sycophants were reminded of pundit criticism of his "few appropriate remarks" at Gettysburg.
Lincoln never used the word "experiment" in his Gettysburg Address, but he proffered the idea all the same with his "as a test of whether a nation so conceived can long endure." This twist of phrase was controversial at the time. Until then, the Civil War was about slavery; with Lincoln's deft touch, it was suddenly the logical continuation of the original American revolution.
As free men, it became their duty to ensure that all men lived free. Surprise, five-hundred thousand soldiers.
Despite the recession, as Obama is set to be sworn in, Americans continue to believe in America, no matter the challenges that may lay ahead. After all, we've already established that there's nothing else to turn to. Unless you really like communism. And don't care that it failed.
Of the People, By the People, and For the People
Lincoln concluded his rhetorical coup d'etat at Gettysburg with the historic "of, by, for" construct, thus arguing that all sacrifice in the name of democracy and freedom is just due to the overwhelming virtue of democracy and freedom.
This was a more controversial thought at the time when it was still unclear whether democracy would survive, but it's now considered almost " self-evident" that, of course, the North would win the war, democracy would flourish, and representative government would never "perish from the Earth."
And that a hundred and fifty years later, we would elect an African-American as president. Of course.
Obama borrowed the "of, by, for" construct in his Philadelphia speech in Lincoln's context.
"And yet, [the founding fathers] were willing to put all they were and all they had on the line...for a set of ideals that continue to light the world...And that a government of, by, and for the people can endure."
He was soaking up the revolutionary legacy of why America is great, but it seemed slightly out of context in that, yes, America was a good idea, but now, how are we going to knock it out of its slump?
Four score
Watch out for a possible Lincolnian time reference via Martin Luther King, Jr.
A hundred years after Lincoln's final Emancipation Proclamation (the "first" Emancipation Proclamation was a warning that the final one would soon follow), Reverend King stood at the feet of Lincoln's memorial to address the million man march.
He opened with "Five score years ago", evoking the "four score" opening of the Gettysburg Address. Obama's inauguration will be "ten score" since Lincoln's birth. And "eleven score and thirteen years" since the founding fathers declared independence.
All are possible, none, due to their unwieldiness, are likely. It's also possible he'd use "two score and five years" since King's speech. In any case, this is just cheeky language, not words with real meaning or heft.
Achieve and Cherish a Just and Lasting Peace Among Ourselves and with All Nations
Just about a month before he was assassinated, Lincoln was sworn in for a second term as president.
His second inaugural address is now literally etched in stone, sitting to his left in his memorial. These are the closing thoughts from his speech, building up on the momentum of his more famous "with malice towards none, with charity for all," with his a vision for the next four years of his presidency:
"Achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations."
Lincoln's entire first term was devoted to the war; he didn't see much of his second. But we take Lincoln's words at face value, believing that he meant them as a blueprint for the wounds that would be salved, both North and South.
It would not be out-of-bounds for Obama to take from the 2nd Inaugural, especially in regards the peace and understanding he hopes will mark his first four years. Hopefully he will prefer these words rather than the more heavily quoted "malice-charity" dualism.
OBAMA quotes Lincoln with aplomb, but ultimately, his tenure in the spotlight will be too long, and the challenges he himself faces too great, to limit an accomplished speaker such as himself to only the exhaustive rhetoric of the great emancipator.
As he pushes forward with hope and change, it's important to know where Obama is borrowing from the past; but it will be crucial for our nation when he sets out to forge his own unique agenda.
Yes, we should be able to.
__________________________
Michael Zannettis keeps a bust of Abraham Lincoln on his desk. He voted for Barack Obama at P.S. 2 in Astoria, Queens on a crisp November morning. There were no lines at his polling place. |
|
email Michael Z.
email this story
print
